26
Emily Malbone Morgan, Prophetic Witness, 1937
27
George Herbert, priest, 1633 was a Welsh-born poet, orator and Anglican priest. Herbert's poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the
foremost British devotional lyricists
28
Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, 1964, and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, 1904, Educators
March
1
David, Bishop of Menevia, Wales, c. 544 was a
Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century; he was later regarded as
a saint. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and a relatively large amount
of information is known about his life.
2
Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, 672
3
John and Charles Wesley, Priests, 1791, 1788
4
Paul Cuffee, Witness to the Faith among the Shinnecock, 1812
OLD TESTAMENT Exodus 24: 12 - 18 (RCL)
Exod 24:12 (NRSV)
The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there;
and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment,
which I have written for their instruction." 13 So Moses set out with his
assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 To the elders
he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and
Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them."
15 Then Moses went
up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the LORD
settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh
day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of
the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of
the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain.
Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah
49:8-16a (alt. for Can. BAS)
Isa. 49:8 (NRSV)
Thus says the Lord:
In a time of
favour I have answered you,
on a
day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you
and given you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the
land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
9 saying to the
prisoners, ‘Come out’,
to those who are in darkness, ‘Show
yourselves.’
They shall feed
along the ways,
on all the bare heights shall be their
pasture;
10 they shall not
hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike
them down,
for he who has
pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will turn
all my mountains into a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Lo, these shall
come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the
west,
and these from the land of Syene.
13 Sing for joy, O
heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has
comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering
ones.
14 But Zion said,
‘The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.’
15 Can a woman
forget her nursing-child,
or show no compassion for the child of her
womb?
Even these may
forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have
inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
PSALM 2 (RCL)
Psal 2:1 (NRSV)
Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples
plot in vain?
2 The kings of the
earth set themselves,
and the rulers
take counsel together,
against the LORD
and his anointed, saying,
3 "Let us
burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their
cords from us."
4 He who sits in
the heavens laughs;
the LORD has them
in derision.
5 Then he will
speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them
in his fury, saying,
6 "I have set
my king on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will tell of
the decree of the LORD
He said to me,
"You are my son;
today I have
begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I
will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of
the earth your possession.
9 You shall break
them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel."
10 Now therefore,
O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers
of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD
with fear,
with trembling 12
kiss his feet,
or he will be
angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is
quickly kindled.
Happy are all who
take refuge in him.
2 Quare fremuerunt
gentes? (ECUSA BCP)
1 Why
are the nations in an uproar? *
Why
do the peoples mutter empty threats?
2 Why
do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt,
and the princes
plot together, *
against
the Lord and against his Anointed?
3 “Let us break their yoke,” they
say; *
“let
us cast off their bonds from us.”
4 He
whose throne is in heaven is laughing; *
the
Lord has them in derision.
5 Then
he speaks to them in his wrath, *
and
his rage fills them with terror.
6 “I myself have set my king *
upon
my holy hill of Zion.”
7 Let
me announce the decree of the Lord:
*
he
said to me, “You are my Son;
this
day have I begotten you.
8 Ask
of me, and I will give you the nations for
your inheritance *
and
the ends of the earth for your possession.
9 You
shall crush them with an iron rod *
and
shatter them like a piece of pottery."
10 And now, you kings, be wise; *
be
warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Submit to the Lord with fear, *
and
with trembling bow before him;
12 Lest he be angry and you perish; *
for
his wrath is quickly kindled.
13 Happy
are they all *
who
take refuge in him!
Psalm 99 (alt. for RCL)
Psal 99:1 (NRSV)
The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned
upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The LORD is
great in Zion;
he is exalted over
all the peoples.
3 Let them praise
your great and awesome name.
Holy is he!
4 Mighty King,
lover of justice,
you have
established equity;
you have executed
justice
and righteousness
in Jacob.
5 Extol the LORD
our God;
worship at his
footstool.
Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron
were among his priests,
Samuel also was
among those who called on his name.
They cried to the
LORD, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them
in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his
decrees,
and the statutes
that he gave them.
8 O LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were a
forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of
their wrongdoings.
9 Extol the LORD
our God,
and worship at his
holy mountain;
for the LORD our
God is holy.
99 Dominus
regnavit (ECUSA BCP)
1 The
Lord is King;
let the people
tremble; *
he is
enthroned upon the cherubim;
let
the earth shake.
2 The
Lord is great in Zion; *
he is
high above all peoples.
3 Let
them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *
he is
the Holy One.
4 "O
mighty King, lover of justice,
you have
established equity; *
you
have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob."
5 Proclaim
the greatness of the Lord our God
and fall down
before his footstool; *
he is
the Holy One.
6 Moses
and Aaron among his priests,
and Samuel among
those who call upon his Name, *
they
called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
7 He spoke
to them out of the pillar of cloud; *
they
kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
8 "O
Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *
you
were a God who forgave them,
yet
punished them for their evil deeds."
9 Proclaim
the greatness of the Lord our God
and worship him
upon his holy hill; *
for
the Lord our God is the Holy One.
131
Domine,
non est (alt. for Can. BAS)
1 O
Lord, I am not proud; *
I
have no haughty looks.
2 I
do not occupy myself with great matters, *
or
with things that are too hard for me.
3 But
I still my soul and make it quiet,
like a child upon
its mother's breast; *
my
soul is quieted within me.
4 O
Israel, wait upon the Lord, *
from
this time forth for evermore.
NEW TESTAMENT 2 Peter 1: 16 - 21 (RCL)
2Pet 1:16 (NRSV)
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his
majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice
was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my
Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice
come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 So we have the
prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to
this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning
star rises in your hearts. 20 First of all you must understand this, that no
prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, 21 because no
prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit
spoke from God.
h/t Montreal
Anglican
The author has written
that God, ultimate “goodness” (v. 3),
“who called us”, has given us everything we need for eternal life. What Jesus
promised to us is our means of escaping the “corruption” (v. 4)
of this world and of attaining union with God. So, he says, our faith and
knowledge of Christ should result in ethical living, “mutual affection” (v. 7)
and love. If we have these qualities and if they grow in us, they will save us
from being ineffectual and “unfruitful” (v. 8)
in doing Christ’s work. If we don’t have them, we are “nearsighted and blind”
(v. 9)
and have forgotten the release from sin we obtained in baptism. So be steadfast
in the faith; being thus will gain us entry into Christ’s kingdom (v. 11).
This letter is written as Peter’s last testament as he approaches death,
instructions he leaves to remind his readers of how to remember to be faithful.
(vv. 12-15).
Now he speaks of the
Transfiguration. While others (false teachers) have used “cleverly devised
myths” (v. 16,
deceitful lies to deceive members of the community: see 2:1-3),
the author was an “eyewitness” to the event, one which showed the power of God
and was a preview of Christ’s second “coming”. At that time,
Jesus “received honour and glory from God the Father” (v. 17)
when the heavenly voice identified him as “‘my Son, my Beloved ...’”. (The
“Majestic Glory” is the Father.) Old Testament prophets (“prophetic message”,
v. 19)
foretold the coming of the Messiah at the end of time; the Transfigurationmore
fully confirms this. Dear readers, hold to (“be attentive to”) this
hope in these times of corruption and false teachers – until the Second Coming
(“until the day dawns”) and Christ, “the morning star”, assumes sovereignty.
Vv. 20-21 make
two points:
·
scripture should be interpreted in the community, not on “one’s own”,
and
·
true prophets,
in every age, are
empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak for God; they do not prophesy of their
own volition.
1 Corinthians
4:1-5 (alt. for Can. BAS, Roman
Catholic)
1 Cor. 4:1 (NRSV)
Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.
2Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy.
3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any
human court. I do not even judge myself. 4I am not aware of anything against
myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.
5Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the time, before the Lord comes,
who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the
purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.
Verses 5-7: Faith should lead to Christian virtues: see
also Romans 5:2-5 and
1 Corinthians 13:13.
Note the progression: “faith” to “goodness” ( REB: virtue) to
“knowledge” to “self-control” to “endurance” (REB: fortitude) to
“godliness” ( REB: piety)
to “mutual affection” ( REB: brotherly
affection) to “love”. [NOAB]
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For:
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See also:
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“knowledge”
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“self-control”
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“endurance”
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“godliness”
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1 Timothy 6:11
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“mutual affection”
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“love”
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Verse 5: “faith”: To NJBC, true
doctrine is meant.
Verses 8-11: The author contrasts those who act in accord with true faith and
those who do not. [ NJBC]
Verse 9: “the cleansing of past sins”: See also Acts 22:16 (Ananias
counsels Paul to “get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away”); 1
Corinthians 6:11;
Ephesians 5:26;
Titus 3:5.
[ CAB]
Verse 10: “be all the more eager to confirm your call and election”: See
also 1 Corinthians 1:26-27.
1 Peter 2:9 says:
“... you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own
people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you
out of darkness into his marvellous light”. [CAB]
Verse 11: “the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”:
Colossians 1:13 says:
“He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the
kingdom of his beloved Son”. This is given expression in the Creed of
Nicea-Constantinople (known as the Nicene Creed, 381 AD)
in the words We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ ... his kingdom will
have no end . Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God: see Mark 10:15 (“whoever
does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it”) and
John 3:3 (“no
one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above”). [ NOAB] [JBC]
Comments: This letter is written as Peter's last testament:
Both Jews and Greeks knew of a testament genre: for example, Socrates’ statement
in Plato’s Apology , Moses (Deuteronomy 32-34),
Joshua (Joshua 24),
Jesus (John 13-17 and
Luke 22:14-36),
Paul (Acts 20:17-35).
[ NJBC]
Verse 13: “body”: Literally, tent: a temporary dwelling. [ JBC]
Verse 14: “as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me”: Perhaps
a reference to John 21:18-19.
[CAB]
Verses 16-18: Apostolic tradition is not a collection of myths, but is based
on the experience of eyewitnesses. The Transfiguration confirms the tradition
that Christ will return in glory: see Matthew 17:1-8;
Mark 9:2-8;
Luke 9:28-36.
[ NOAB]
Verse 16: See also 1 Timothy 1:4 (“myths
and endless genealogies”); 4:7 (“profane
myths and old wives' tales”); 2 Timothy 4:4;
Titus 1:14.
[ CAB]
Verse 16: “cleverly devised myths”: 2:1-3 says:
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will
even deny the Master who bought them – bringing swift destruction on
themselves. Even so, many will follow their licentious ways, and because of
these teachers the way of truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will
exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them
long ago, has not been idle, and their destruction is not asleep”.
Verse 17: “Majestic Glory”: Majesty and glory are both common epithets for
God: see also Hebrews 1:3(Christ
is “the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being”); 8:1; Testament of Levi 3:4.
God’s voice also has these attributes: see Psalm 29:4 and
Sirach 17:13.
Verse 17: “‘This is my Son ...’”: This quotation is from Mark 9:7 (Jesus’
transfiguration); Matthew 17:5;
Luke 9:35.
[ CAB]
Verse 18: “the holy mountain”: See also Mark 9:2-8;
Matthew 17:1-8;
Luke 9:28-36,
all of which speak of Jesus leading Peter, James and John up a mountain. [ CAB]
Verse 19: The Patristic writers
see Jesus’ prediction that some would not taste death until they saw the coming
of God’s kingdom as fulfilled in the vision of Jesus’ power and glory at the
Transfiguration; however some almost contemporary writings, such as the Apocalypse of Peter,
see the Transfiguration itself as a prophecy of Jesus’ second coming, not a
fulfilment of an earlier prophecy. It is in the sense of prophecy of the Second
Coming that the author of 2 Peter speaks of “the prophetic message”. [ NJBC]
Verse 19: “more”: Hellenistic Greek
often uses a word meaning “more” to mean very . Vv. 17-18 represent
the very best prophecy of Jesus’ Second Coming. [ NJBC]
Verse 19: “ a lamp shining in a dark place”: See also Mark 4:21 and
John 5:35 (said
by Jesus, of John the Baptiser). [ CAB]
Verse 19: “until the day dawns”: In Luke 1:78,
Zechariah, John the Baptizer’s father, says: “By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace”.
Verse 19: “the morning star”: In Balaam’s oracle (for Balak, Numbers 24:17),
we read: “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of
Israel”. See also Revelation 2:28.
Revelation 22:16 says:
“‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the
churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star’”.
[ NJBC]
Verses 20-21: In the Old Testament, prophecies when rightly understood were
uncomfortable, even threatening: see Jeremiah 6:14 and
Ezekiel 13:10.
The false teachers whom the author censures are like Israel’s false prophets
(see 2:1),
who have neither received God’s challenging word nor understood it; for
example, they twist Paul’s words on the topic under discussion (see 3:15-16).
[ NJBC] See also 1
Corinthians 14:29.
Verse 21: “from God”: Unlike the false teachers, the author claims
inspiration from God both in his receipt of the prophecy concerning the Second
Coming and his exposition of it. [ NJBC]
GOSPEL Matthew 17: 1 - 9 (RCL)
Matt 17:1 (NRSV)
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and
led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before
them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3
Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Eli'jah, talking with him. 4 Then
Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I
will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Eli'jah." 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the
Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" 6 When the disciples
heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came
and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." 8 And when
they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
9 As they were
coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the
vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." 10 And
the disciples asked him, "Why, then, do the scribes say that Eli'jah must
come first?"
Matthew 6:24-34 (alt. for Can. BAS)
Matt. 6:24 (NRSV)
‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love
the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and wealth.*
25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry
about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,* or about your body,
what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than
they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?*
28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how
they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all
his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass
of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will
he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry,
saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?”
32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for
the kingdom of God* and his* righteousness, and all these things will be given
to you as well.
34 ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Early Christians knew the book of Daniel well. Vv. 6-7 would tell them that this “vision” (v. 9) is linked to the end times: see Daniel 8:17 (where “mortal” is son of man in the Hebrew). Moses and Elijah vanish into insignificance, leaving Jesus alone. The Church Fathers saw the Transfiguration as fulfilling Jesus’ prediction that some would not die until they had seen the coming of God’s kingdom; others saw the event as a prophecy of the Second Coming.
The parallels are Mark
9:2-8 and Luke 9:28-36. [ NOAB]
This passage reaffirms
the messiahship of Jesus and of the messianic glory in which he will be
revealed. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “Peter and
James and his brother John”: The same inner circle is mentioned in 26:37 and
Mark 5:37. [ NJBC]
Verse 1: “a high
mountain”: This may be symbolic; if a particular mountain is meant, it is
probably Mount Hermon, near Caesarea Philippi. It rises to about 2,750 metres
(9,000 feet). Other possibilities are Mount Carmel and Mount Tabor.
Comments: An aura of
unnatural brightness is linked with mystical appearances in Exodus and Acts:
See, for example, Exodus 34:29 (Moses’ face shines after he has been talking
with God on Mount Sinai), 35; Acts 9:3 (Paul’s conversion). [ NJBC]
Verse 3: “Moses and
Elijah”: The Law and the prophets often stand for the whole of the Old
Testament. The presence of these two men symbolises the fullness of God’s
revelation to Israel. Deuteronomy 34:6 tells us that “no one knows his [Moses’]
burial place to this day”. Jewish tradition therefore said that Moses was taken
directly into heaven without dying. 2 Kings 2:17 tells us of Elijah: “fifty men
who searched for three days but did not find him”. Jewish tradition stretched
this verse and the story in the preceding verses to saying that Elijah was
taken into heaven without dying. [ HBD]
Verse 4: “dwellings”:
For the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), see Leviticus 23:42 and Nehemiah
8:14-18. [ NJBC]
Verse 5: “cloud”: In a
cloud, God comes to declare the Law to Moses; he speaks from a cloud as he does
here. See Exodus 19:9; 24:15-16.
Verse 5: “‘This is my
Son ...’”: For the words the voice from heaven speaks at Jesus’ baptism, see
3:17. Here the words spoken are based on three verses:
Psalm 2:7: “I will tell
of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have begotten
you’”
Isaiah 42:1: “Here is
my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my
spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
Deuteronomy 18:15,
where Moses says: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me
from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet”. [ NJBC]
Verses 6-7: Daniel is
the only apocalyptic book in the Old Testament. Daniel 8:17 says: “So he came
near where I stood; and when he came, I became frightened and fell prostrate.
But he said to me, ‘Understand, O mortal, that the vision is for the time of
the end.’”. Daniel 10:9-10 says: “Then I heard the sound of his words; and when
I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a trance, face to the ground. But
then a hand touched me and roused me to my hands and knees.”
Verse 9: For
applications of this event to the destiny of Christians, see Romans 12:2; 2
Corinthians 3:18. See also 2 Peter 1:16-18; 2 Timothy 1:8, 10. [ NJBC]
Verses 10-13: Based on
Malachi 4:5, coupled with Malachi 3:1, “the scribes”, the scholars of the
Pharisaic sect, taught that Elijah must return to prepare for Yahweh’s final
judgement. But Peter has now identified Jesus as the messiah (Christ); Jesus is
about to suffer, die, rise (see 21:21) and carry out the final judgment (see
16:27). So, if the end times are so near, is it not too late for Elijah’s
preparatory ministry? [ BlkMt]
Verse 10: “Elijah”: See
Malachi 4:5-6 (3:23-24 in some bibles) for the expectation that God would send
Elijah before Judgement Day, “the terrible day of the Lord”. [ NJBC]
Verse 10: “come first”:
Daniel 12:2 tells of the general resurrection of the deceased: “Many of those
who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and
some to shame and everlasting contempt”. More probably, the question is about
the raising of the Son of Man from the dead.
Verse 11: Jesus quotes
the expectation of the scribes, and states his position in v. 12. He affirms
their expectation and says (in v. 12) that they (or people in general) have
failed to recognize that “Elijah has already come”: “John the Baptist” (v. 13)
is Elijah. [ BlkMt]
Verse 12: See 1 Kings
19:2, 10; Psalm 22:6; Isaiah 53:3. [ NJBC]
Verse 13: John the
Baptist has already been identified with Elijah: Jesus says in 11:14 “For all
the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to
accept it, he is Elijah who is to come”. [ NJBC]
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